Nassau parks no longer free for nonresidents
Residents leaving New York City and Suffolk County on hot summer weekends and holidays will no longer be able to use some of Nassau County's major parks for free.
After decades of complaints about outsiders, the county will put up security booths at six of the county's largest parks later this month and require $5 from any vehicle not carrying a county resident with photo ID.
"People have really gotten tired of New York City people filling up the parks, and this is long overdue," parks advocate Bruce Piel said.
County Executive Edward Mangano decided on the fees after they were proposed earlier this year by the organization that Piel chairs, the Park Advocacy & Recreation Council of Nassau, a coalition of 158 park advocacy and user groups. The parks are still open to Nassau residents for free.
In Suffolk, county parks are open to the public, but the county reserves the right to exclude nonresidents, county spokesman Dan Aug said.
In New York City, parks are open and free for everyone, residents and nonresidents, a city parks spokeswoman said.
Nassau County historically had a "closed" park system with security booths at major parks to ensure that only county residents could enter. In the mid-1960s, County Executive Eugene Nickerson proposed opening the parks to everyone.
The board of supervisors - the county legislature of its day - overruled Nickerson, but he got around that by reducing booth staffing at some parks, and eliminating it at others. Budget cuts in the 1990s all but eliminated staffing of the booths, except for Nickerson Beach and Wantagh Park on holidays.
"Nassau taxpayers should not shoulder the burden of nonresidents who utilize our parks," Mangano said in explaining his decision to impose the fees. "For this reason, we will begin to require a $5 [per car] upkeep fee for non-Nassau residents who wish to enjoy our county parks."
The booths will be manned 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekends and holidays from Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day, according to parks commissioner Carnell Foskey. The parks are Eisenhower, Wantagh, Cantiague, Cedar Creek, North Woodmere and Christopher Morley. If things go well, Foskey said Bay Park and Grant Park might be added to the list.
The county has more than 30 parks, and those selected are among the 13 "active" parks, which the department says are "large, offer diverse activities, are heavily used by the public, and tend to have full-time, on-site staff."
Foskey said he has heard of complaints from civic and parks groups that nonresidents violated park rules, but said he had no proof.
Gary Carlton, president of the North Woodmere Park Foundation, said residents complained about Queens residents using the park.
"Kids come over to play basketball. Families use the picnic area," Carlton said. "There were no outrageous incidents or anything."
